Sport Not all calories are equal
- Thread starter Gus1
- Start date
Sport Fitness
Calories are always "equal"
They can be nothing else... a calorie is simply a unit of measurement.
Nutrient, now those vary. And that's where you're getting hung up.
Your best bet would be to determine a caloric intake based on your goals. Create a deficit for fat loss or a surplus for weight gain.
From there fill in what foods will comprise those calories starting with protein. A good idea would be to eat 1 gram of protein per pound. If you're carrying a lot of fat, use 1 gram of protein per pound of goal weight instead.
There are 4 calories in each gram of protein, so do the math to figure out how many calories you have left to fill.
Next I'd focus on fats. Fats should come primarily from the good stuff (monos and polys). Something like 25-30% of your total calories can come from fat as a foundation. There are 9 calories in each gram of fat.
Since you're just getting the hang of this, the rest of your calories can go to carbs. There are 4 calories in each gram of carb. This may need to be tweaked depending on your goals, response, etc.
To sum it up, suppose you weight 200 lbs and your goal is to lose some weight.
Your caloric goal might be something like 2000 calories.
Protein:
200 grams = 800 calories
Fat:
30% of 2000 = 600 calories = 70ish grams of fat
Carbs:
You still have 600 calories to work with (2000 - 800 - 600 = 600). That said, start with 150 grams of carbs and see how that pans out.
They can be nothing else... a calorie is simply a unit of measurement.
Nutrient, now those vary. And that's where you're getting hung up.
Your best bet would be to determine a caloric intake based on your goals. Create a deficit for fat loss or a surplus for weight gain.
From there fill in what foods will comprise those calories starting with protein. A good idea would be to eat 1 gram of protein per pound. If you're carrying a lot of fat, use 1 gram of protein per pound of goal weight instead.
There are 4 calories in each gram of protein, so do the math to figure out how many calories you have left to fill.
Next I'd focus on fats. Fats should come primarily from the good stuff (monos and polys). Something like 25-30% of your total calories can come from fat as a foundation. There are 9 calories in each gram of fat.
Since you're just getting the hang of this, the rest of your calories can go to carbs. There are 4 calories in each gram of carb. This may need to be tweaked depending on your goals, response, etc.
To sum it up, suppose you weight 200 lbs and your goal is to lose some weight.
Your caloric goal might be something like 2000 calories.
Protein:
200 grams = 800 calories
Fat:
30% of 2000 = 600 calories = 70ish grams of fat
Carbs:
You still have 600 calories to work with (2000 - 800 - 600 = 600). That said, start with 150 grams of carbs and see how that pans out.
Strout and DEF: word. A calorie is simply a unit of measurement, just like a kilogram or a liter. However the different macros contain different amounts of calories, and the body also treats the different macros differently, so how many of the calories in the macros your body will store or use as chemical energy (ATP) differs.